Tama-chan is a girl from Bellflower Hall.
This place has been her home since birth.
The Headmistress and other children are here too.
They eat, play, sleep, and live happily.
Sometimes, fathers and mothers happen, and some children say goodbye.

 

One day, the Headmistress called Tama-chan.
“Your mother is here for you.”
“What’s she like?”
“No need to worry. She’s going to love you a lot.”

 

Mother, wearing a scarf and sunglasses, came to pick her up in a car.
“Come visit us anytime.”
The Headmistress waved goodbye till she could see them no more.

“Let’s be friends from here on,” Mother said.
Her big eyes gazed at Tama-chan.

 

Mother’s home was a white house with a triangular roof.
“What’s your job, Mother?”
“I act on stage. I can be a princess, a fairy, or a witch.”
“That’s amazing.”
“Hehe.”

 

From that day on, they were together every day.
They went to the lake and got sunburned.
They went shopping at the market.
They read stories before bedtime.
Tama-chan and Mother had become close friends.

“Is your work okay, Mother?”
“I’ll take a break until you grow up.”

 

Autumn came, and Tama-chan started school.
She studied, played sports, and went on field trips.

There was a Parents’ Day at school.
“My mother,” Tama-chan introduced her to everyone.

 

The next day, a friend said, “Tama-chan’s mother isn’t her real mother, is she?”

 

“How was today?” Mother asked when Tama-chan got home.
“Nothing,” she replied.

 

On Sunday, Tama-chan left early in the morning.
She packed a backpack with a towel, clothes, biscuits, a water bottle, and some money.
As she was leaving the house, Mother asked, “Where are you going?”
“To play with friends at the park.”
“Have a good time.”

 

Tama-chan headed to the station.
She asked the station attendant and got on a train.
At a station along the way, a man got on.
The man sat facing Tama-chan and opened the window slightly to smoke.
There was a sign on the wall with a cigarette and an “OK”.
Tama-chan thought it meant smoking.

“This is a smoking car, and I’m a smoker,” the man said and chuckled.

Tama-chan decided to call the man “Mr. Smoker,” though of course, only in her mind.

“Where are you going?” Mr. Smoker asked.
“To the mountains,” Tama-chan replied.
Mr. Smoker said, “I’m going to the mountains too,” sounding surprised.
Tama-chan was relieved.
“It must be beautiful with the leaves changing color.”
“I went there on a school trip.”
“Are you going on a field trip alone today?”
“I’m going to live in the mountains.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“There’s a cabin, and I can drink water from the river and eat wild strawberries.”
“I see. In that case, you should be fine.”
Mr. Smoker , reassured, looked out the window.
Tama-chan also looked out the window at the passing scenery, and the white smoke.

 

“We’ve arrived,” said the conductor when they reached the mountain station.
The air was cool.
They walked through the trees, and leaves fell gently.
They found a bench and had a snack.
Tama-chan had biscuits and tea, while  Mr. Smoker had coffee.
The light blue sky and leaves in red, yellow, brown, green, and black colors surrounded them.

 

Fwoosh.  Mr. Smoker struck a match.

Tama-chan stood up.
“Well, goodbye. I’m going to the cabin in the mountains.”
“How come you want to live in the mountains?　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 Can you tell me before you leave?”  Mr. Smoker said.
Tama-chan stared at the glowing cigarette.

 

“My mother isn’t my real mother.
The Headmistress at Bellflower Hall chose her for me.
I told my friends that she was my real mother because I didn’t want them to know the truth.
But they knew.
She’s not my real mother.
I don’t want to go to school anymore.
I can’t tell Mother.
I can’t go back to Bellflower Hall.
The Headmistress will be sad.”

 

“I see,”
Mr. Smoker showed Tama-chan his cigarette case.
“I sell cigarettes.
I walk around in big towns and small towns.
There are people who like cigarettes and people who hate them.
People who are kind to me even though we’ve just met.
People who laugh at the man with no shop.
No matter where I go, there are different people saying different things. But, you see, if I let that bother me, I couldn’t be a cigarette seller.”

Mr. Smoker took Tama-chan’s hand and held it tightly.
“What matters is that you love your mother, and she loves you.
So, go home today.
Your mother is waiting for you, waiting for you eagerly,”.
Tama-chan’s hand hurt so much that she nodded.
Mr. Smoker let go.

 

Tama-chan and  Mr. Smoker got on the train for the journey back.
Mr. Smoker enjoyed his cigarette.
Then, at some station, he got off again.

 

When Tama-chan’s arrived at her station, her mother’s car was waiting.

“Mother.”
“Tama-chan.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I was looking for you.”
The town was bathed in the light of the setting sun.

 

Tama-chan got in the car.
“It smells nice.”
“I put on flower-scented perfume.”

 

“Welcome home,”

Mother said, starting the engine with a vroom.
The car sped away.
The two of them returned home, to their home.